The Thorned Rose
by xMoonFire
Summary: Rated T for Safety. What happens when a kind "Street Pichu" meets an arrogant prince? Especially when you add in a evil sorcerer and wish granting pokemon! Pokemon Aladdin! With multiple twists & turns. My first ever fan fic! Enjoy x3
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Prologue: The Street Pichu and Sorceress**

"_Father, do you really have to leave?" questioned a young blue-eyed, brunette who was currently clutching her father's travelling burgundy robe. _

"_Yeah, can't you at least take us with you?" replied the young girl's brother also tightly holding the cloth._

_Smiling gently at the two siblings he kindly said, "Now, May, Max, you know very well I need you two to stay here and take of your mother while I'm gone..."_

_Sighing before finally releasing their father, the two young children reply with a solemn, "Okay…"_

"_Be careful, Norman," tenderly nagged his wife._

"_I will, Caroline. I promise I'll come home as soon as I can become a Gym leader. And then we can live luxuriously, better than what we have now.." he said, determination and hope shining in his dark eyes._

_With her mother standing beside her, May and her family sadly waved goodbye to her father. Together they could see his figure on top of the ever faithful Dodrio silhouetted a deep black against the setting sun's medley of orange, red, and yellow. She and Max kept waving until their father was out of sight and leaked a few tears before finally turning back home with their mother. Weeping, May knew she would not see her father for a long time. He had gone off to find fortune, not for himself but for his family…_

_May quickly turned back around, no longer seeing her brother or mother, only the distant figure of her father heading to the sunset. She ran hard while crying, she refused to lose him. It was selfish thinking but she no longer cared. No, she would not let him go.. She would not allow him to leave her alone…_

_The young brunette kept running towards her target, clumsily tripping yet determinedly getting up, continuing her strides to the far away figure. May ignored everything around her, the lovely shades of the desert blurring into nothing as she moved on, only vaguely aware of the cuts and pain that entered her small body. She refused to allow these small things to bother as she grew closer to her father who seemed to hardly notice her. As May began to close in on her father, she suddenly realized her mother and brother were there too. 'Impossible,' she thought, 'Weren't they behind me heading home?'_

_Calling the names of her family once they were in ear shot, the little girl felt alone and abandoned as they refused to respond.. She was all alone, left behind, uncared for, and terribly broken hearted… Shaking these thoughts out of her head she yelled at them to look at her. Suddenly stopping, causing the young girl to almost to crash into them, her parents & brother slowly turned around. As May look up at their faces, hers sapphire eyes widened in terrified fear. In place of her beloved family's caring faces she instead saw…_

~~xXx~~

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

A teenage brunette instantly shot up from her bed panting, eyes still wide with horror. Her loud, and quite rude, awakening had also terrified her beloved Beautifly. The poor pokemon was sent into an unwanted flight across the room promptly crashing into the beige wall, and slowly sliding down onto the floor once the despised barrier made _quite_ painful contact. Crying out in aching displeasure, the Beautifly agonizingly turned around to face its trainer readying herself to yell a strongly worded message for causing it pain, but that rage was quickly replaced with loving concern once the butterfly pokemon noticed the trauma its friend was in.

May Maple was still sitting up in her bed, with her legs curled up against her chest, her face buried in her knees. The blue-eyed girl was still huffing from the scare her dream had given her, she was even sweating slightly. Fluttering gently towards her master, the Beautifly landed gently on May's legs. Feeling the small amount of pressure on her shins, May slowly looked up and gazed at her pokemon who noticed the tears that still ran down her trainer's face.

"Beau," she murmured softly trying to comfort the tear-stained girl.

"Oh, Beautifly…" whimpered May, drawing out her arms to carefully pull her loyal companion into a hug.

"I had the dream again…" May said choosing to vent her emotions to her pokemon, knowing she would understand and not judge her.

"Ugh, I don't know why I keep getting these nightmares. They got even worse since Max left…" she sighed angrily. Beautifly nodded in understanding. Max had left May a few months ago after being offered an apprenticeship to an unknown professor. He needed to go after his dream, and he knew if he could make it big he and May would be able to live a lot better off than they- or at least than _she, _was living now. Besides, she wouldn't have been much use if she went with him, plus she intended to always be there, waiting for their father's return. Before Norman had left, he had told his family, "When I finally do return, it will be exactly at sunset right outside of the city's gates." May stayed behind always waiting at the gate from sunset to nightfall, hoping that one day her father would return, a successful gym leader, despite the fact that long ago he was reported missing… Sadly, soon after that report, May's mother, Caroline, had caught a deadly disease and was no longer able to stay with Max and May.

"I guess.. It's because… I feel so alone…" May sobbed, silently breaking down into tears once again.

"Beau, Beautifly.." replied the little pokemon doing her best to comfort her friend.

~~xXx~~

By noon, May had gotten herself out of bed and left her small room to the market to 'borrow' some food as a late breakfast for her and her pokemon. She was wearing baggy pants that went down to her shins that were probably once white, but now a nice tan, beige color from dust and dirt stains. Attached over this was a translucent, thin, flowing, pink cloth, which was also somewhat ripped and dirty that ended just above her knees. Her top was faded red with the simple design of a tilted oval shaped leaf stitched in green thread on the front. Completing the outfit was a burgundy cloak, with white circular designs that were upon the corner edge of its hood & cloak. The hood ended slightly above her bangs, and out of her face. (**A/N**: Her hood is like the bandana, always up & adding the final touch to her clothes. ;3)

"Shopping" was one of the most fun and amusing part of her day. She loved the thrill of nearly being caught by guards. The adrenaline from being chased. The flooding relief of escaping. It was like on big game! What made especially more fun was that her pokemon enjoyed helping her to do it. She was walking down the dirt road street calculating the schedules of stalls open, the guards on duty, and the method of stealing when she came up with the most appropriate combination. Magikarp stall 1, Lethargic Guard 21, and Method Skitty 17. Smiling at the simplicity of getting her meal, May reached into the pouch hanging on her waist containing the magic crystals that held her pokemon. Each of these jewels were a different color for each pokemon. These crystals had the power of transforming the pokemon into a light corresponding with the crystal, and sucking the pokemon into the gem for easy transportation and identification of its rightful trainer called Pokegems. (**A/N**: These "Pokegems" are basically the same thing as a pokeball, but since the time setting is like that of Aladdin, technology is a big no-no. x3 ..Think of it like in _Lucario and the Mystery of Mew_, Lucario was trapped in the crystal staff. They look like that but smaller.) Taking out a light pinkish purple crystal, May tossed it gently in the air.

"Skitty, Take the stage!"

"Nya, nyaa!" the kitten pokemon cried out in glee while running in tight circle trying in vain to capture its tail.

"Okay, Skitty. Use Charm!

"Myaa," exclaimed Skitty running towards the vendor.

Glancing up upon hearing a small mew, the vendor was caught up in a light dust of sparkles and looked at the excruciatingly cute pokemon sitting patiently before him. Entranced by the charming little creature in front of him, the merchant failed to notice a cloaked figure deftly snatch five of his best ruby red Magikarp and calmly walk away with his merchandise tucked neatly under the person's cloak. Skitty glanced at the retreating figure and quickly ended the attack, gracefully bounding away after said figure, while the dazed vendor blinked trying to clear his head.

Grinning quite proudly, the pink kitten glanced up at her cloaked master waiting for praise and her share of the goods. May smiled gently at the young Skitty while lifting her hood out of her face.

"Way to go Skitty! That was a great Charm attack!"

"Nyaaa nya," the kitten pokemon said while reaching up expectantly for food.

Laughing, May handed Skitty half of one of her Magikarp. The pink pokemon pranced around next to her mistress proudly showing off her prize for all to see and envy. As the brunette walked down the road, about to bite into the fried fish, she felt a light tug on her cape. Looking down, her azure eyes falling upon a thin child who was looking up at her pleadingly glancing slightly towards the Magikarp in her grasp. Feeling sorrow welling up within her, May handed over one of her fresh fish to the starving child. Seeing a spark of delight shine in the dull eyes was all the thank you she needed as the child silently ran off clutching the treasure tightly in his grasp.

~~xXx~~

As May gave the cooked Magikarp to the child, a figure watched her antics through a crystal ball. The figure was crouching, leaning over staring deeply into the crystal clear sphere, thoughtfully thinking of the possibilities.

"This, _Street Pichu_, may very well be the rose with the thorns I'm looking for.."

"But what about the boy, my liege? What if it he, the green haired prince?" squawked the Chatot sitting on the figure's shoulder, also gazing upon the brown haired girl.

"Hmm, you are quite right my friend. I suppose we'll just have to keep an on both of them... No matter! Either way I _will_ get what I'm after, I _will_ be the most powerful sorcerer... I _will_ rule all of LaRousse!!"

**A/N:** Okay, to make things clear, this story is based on the famous tale known as Aladdin, but I am going along both plots of the _original_ Aladdin, (from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights) and the _Disney_ version of Aladdin. I have seen some other fictions and arts based on this story also using one of the famous couples, May and Drew. I hope that mine is different and unique compared to these others. Knowing that this is a somewhat common idea, I am also hoping that I can prove to be a good writer by making something average, unique.

I know what you're thinking, "Wait, isn't the _ boy_ supposed to be the 'Street Rat' not the girl?!?! And shouldn't she be the princess??!" Well, this one of those 'unique' things I'm talking about! Heheh I think it would be more appropriate having the arrogant one to be the Prince (even if it does somewhat clash with the plot), but I just cannot see Drew being a lowly thieving beggar. I mean the big hot shot coordinator being 'homeless' (so to speak)??? No, I dun think so. I'm sorry but it will be a quite a long time before I actually get to update… I hope you people will stay with me though.

I know this is cliché and it annoys me when I read these too, but…

_**Please Review!!!**_; Polite, constructive criticism is the best kind of advice for a newbie writer!!! Flames will be taken into consideration as long they are not pointless rants.

 -poof- xMoonFire has left the building~


	2. Chapter 1: Escape to Freedom

**Disclaimer: **I dun own Pokemon.

I would like to clarify a few things that I forgot to mention from the last chapter:

I am making La Rousse a country, and the capital city (the current & main setting) is also conveniently called La Rousse. Think of it like New York City, New York xD

May's outfit is similar to her Sinnoh contest costume.

May is commonly known and called among most as the "Street Pichu" like Aladdin was the street rat, but May, being a girl, is a street mouse. Get it? x3

There is no limit on how many Pokemon you can carry with you at a time, destroying a Pokegem while the pokemon is still inside it can kill it, destroying while its outside of it releases the pokemon.

May and Drew are both 16, Drew older by a couple of months.

I am swamped in school work and I'm sorry for any major delays in updates. Plus I am also still somewhat rocky on the plot and important details on the story so I need time to organize it properly.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter 1: Escape to Freedom**

"Ugh, another princess parade," complained a blue-eyed brunette from the roof top where she was working on routines with her pokemon. Returning all of them to their Pokegems, except for her uniquely patterned Bulbasaur, and watched the procession from their edge of the roof.

Below them an extravagant sedan (**A/N:** To clarify, a "sedan" like a carriage but carried by people, a "shoulder carriage." It was mostly used in ancient China, but let's just say said princess is from a far off country like Sinnoh and that they use sedans. x3) was passing through the streets heading towards the palace gates. The sedan was elaborately carved in wood flecked in gold to appear as though Gracidea flowers (**A/N:** Sinnoh region flower that allows Shaymin to transform into their sky form. Also looks like the flower on the side of a Shaymin's head) were twining up around the beams supporting the roof of the structure which also had carved gold speckled Gracidea flowers and a gold (landform) Shaymin idol on top. The smooth lucid curtains of the shoulder carriage were carefully set in place, drawn so that no one may gaze upon the princess but only see a silhouette of her figure.

May was always on watch whenever a conceited daughter of royalty came to La Rousse. The brats usually always ignored the common people and trampled them without a thought if someone happened to be in the way. The girl believed it was her duty to help those who always happened to cross the paths of these selfish princesses. Jumping down from the roof they were residing on, trainer and pokemon walked alongside the sedan at a inconspicuous distance as not to attract attention to themselves and appear apart of passing pedestrians.

"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip," murmured the May. She was making sure people did not get to close to the carriage should they receive a good yell and beating from the princess and her servants by having the seed pokemon gently nudge the passerby a good foot away from the retainers. (**A/N:** servants, in the case the ones holding up the sedan.) Most people by now were used to the stranger's actions, and that was she only looking out for them. Most of the younger ones knew May quite well and loved playing with her and her pokemon.

'_Oh Crap,'_ suddenly thought the blue eyed female as she saw a group of children run directly in the path of the royal girl's escorts.

"How _dare_ those _brats_, get in the way of _my_ royal procession to the palace!" screamed the Sinnoh princess peeking her head out trying to see what the holdup was for.

"What do you want us to do, your highness?"

"Trample them into dust," the monarch smugly.

"Bulbasaur, save them!" May shouted desperately.

"Bulba!" cried the turquoise pokemon as it shot out its vines toward the petrified kids. Firmly, but gently, Bulbasaur wrapped her vines around them, and pulled them out of the way right before the guard crushed the children with the hooves of the Rapidash he was riding. Sighing with relief, May congratulated Bulbasaur while the frightened gathered around her legs clutching at her clothes, seeking comfort from the near death experience. Everything had happened so fast the brunette was still somewhat dazed with adrenaline at the whole experience, and suddenly found herself completely come over with one emotion, rage. The princess and guards were still somewhat stunned that the brats had seemingly disappeared out of nowhere. The princess was the first to recover.

"HOW THE HEATRAN DID THEY ESCAPE?! GET THEM! GET-" The royal 'highness' was cut off when she found herself face to face with a very angry peasant girl who had the guts to be so much as a foot away from her.

"HOW _DARE_ YOU!! HOW DARE YOU TRY TO KILL THESE, THESE, CHILDREN FOR GROUDON'S SAKE!" May was panting now, most of her temper out from her little display just now continued once she got her breath back.

"Oh Rayquaza… Oh… You better hope Mew take pity on your soul…" the brunette peasant murmured darkly before turning away Bulbasaur trailing behind her. The princess was gaping doing a fine impression of a Magikarp.

"AFTER HER! GET THAT RETCHED STREET PICHU!!" screeched the Sinnoh King's daughter. But, it was too late. The Street Pichu was gone.

~~xXx~~

"Oh great, another one…" mumbled a green-eyed teenager. Sighing, the prince of La Rousse walked away from his window where he had seen the princess approaching. Looking quickly in the mirror, tousling his emerald colored hair, his royal highness walked out to the courtyard, preparing yet again to reject another airhead princess. He was wearing a loose black long sleeve shirt under a short sleeved purple robe that reached half way down his shins (a cape like look), and was elaborately designed with gold (**A/N:** The designs is like those lines and curves that go all over in no particular image, & sorry if my descriptions get lamer by the chapter. I'm getting lazy. x3) His beige pants were baggy and tied high up the waist with a big red sash. When said male walked down the steps making his way to the fountain in the center of the garden, he met up with his faithful Flygon.

"Hey there boy.. Get ready, we have _another_ one coming. It must be the 11th one this week, and its only Wednesday!" said the prince exasperatedly, quite annoyed at these constant disturbances.

Flygon only cooed in sympathy for his master, knowing well how maddening his life was. Being the prince, of course he had to have a wife to help him rule the country and also provide him with an heir to the throne, therefore meant many princesses, duchesses, and other royalties were constantly fawning over him, trying to gain his affections... and the throne. Girls always flocked him for his coordinating skills as well. Having a fan club was fine for him, but sometimes he just couldn't take it. All the squealing and chasing really got on his nerves. No matter what they were all so predictable. An insult, and they either squealed that he even bothered to talk to him or weep and run off. It had actually become amusing for him by now to insult a few girls here and there.. (**A/N:** Have you ever noticed how in the anime Drew doesn't insult his fans, only May?? o-o; Meh. Oh well, let's go with this and that he only taunts/ messes with girls~)

"Ooohhh, Dreeeww!" called out a high pitched, sing-song voice.

"And let the fun begin.." whispered the smugly prince to his smirking Flygon.

"Drew, can't you at least _try_ being nice to these girls?"

Rolling his eyes while sighing exasperatedly, the prince replied, "No mother, I don't want anything to do with those with those stuck up princesses."

"Oh, like you act any differently!" retorted the queen, "Drew, you know you have to marry before your 18th birthday, so you can rule the country properly. So pick a girl and be done with it!" Drew's mother had ruby-red eyes with dark green hair braided off to the side (**A/N: **Imagine Cheryl from the game & anime but with red eyes x3 and not the evil sinister red, the gentle, yet piercing red.) She wore a viridian colored dress that was laced in gold.

Drew scoffed and simply said, "If I have to marry, I want to marry for love."

And with that, the prince of La Rousse stalked off.

"Ugh!" growled the chartreuse haired boy, slamming the door to his room.

"It's not fair! Other people get to marry their one true love and I can't because _it's my duty to the country_," vented royal heir to his faithful Roselia.

"Roselia…"

'_It's always rules, rules!'_ thought his highness, '_I've never even been allowed outside the palace walls for Raquaza's sake! Even Flygon has flying restrictions! Ugh, it's like prison in here! I feel so trapped, and… alone.' _By now, Drew had fallen onto his large bed and was staring blankly at the ceiling contemplating his problem.

'_I need to get out. Anything is better than having all my decisions chosen for me, even living in the streets as a beggar. Mother will probably pick that princess, from Blackthorn and have that brat as my arranged wife since I've denied just about every girl in the world.'_ Having decided what he was to do at last, Drew grabbed his Pokegem pouch along with a small money sack full of gold coins. Sneaking around the palace, he found a thin plain purple vest and a small red cupped shaped hat. He took his pants, shirt, vest, and cap, and rubbed in the dirt to give off the effect of the peasant he would pretend to be. The prince then waited until midnight, before he went out to the palace garden.

In the dead of night, a cloaked figure ran across the palace grounds, deftly avoiding guards by hiding in the shadows. Once the figure came to the wall surrounding the palace, he began to climb. Before he could get very far, Flygon grabbed his cloak holding him back.

"Oh Flygon, you know I can't take you after mother attached that collar on you.." said the escaping heir. After Drew's last attempt to run away had failed by riding Flygon, the queen had a charmed collar placed on Flygon so he and his master couldn't fly to far away without alerting the guards. Giving a parting coo, Flygon allowed his master to leave watching him with sad eyes as he left, wondering if or when he would be back.

"Bread! Get your bread right here! Freshly baked bread!"

Drew glanced around in awe and amusement as we walked down the streets enjoying his first taste of freedom. All around him vendors and entertainers filled the dirt road, eagerly trying to earn coins early in the morning. He saw fire blowers, sword swallowers, jugglers, and strong men showing off their muscles. Magikarp vendors, bakers, jewel peddlers, trinket hawkers all lined along the sides. As he continued his stroll, Drew noticed a crowd forming a circle in a plaza. Curious to see what the spectacle was, the prince in disguise squeezed his way through until he could see what appeared to be.. a coordinating appeal?

~~xXx~~

"Squirtle, Take the stage!"

May tossed up light cerulean blue crystal, which released a light blue beam that revealed the small turtle pokemon.

"Squirt, squirtle!" he exclaimed excitedly while twirling in the air gracefully before landing gently on the ground.

"Squirtle, use Bubble!"

Squirtle smiled and opened its mouth releasing moderately sized bubbles that gave off a rainbow colored sheen all over the plaza. Seeing the display, a small crowd gathered in the square. Noticing the crowd gathering, May and Squirtle simultaneously, slyly grinned. Everything was working according to plan as usual.

"Great job! Now Squirtle, Rapid Spin, then follow it up by Water Gun!" commanded May while confidently throwing her fist in the air.

"Squirtle!"said the light blue turtle quickly withdrew into its amber shell, and spun so quickly that he appeared only as an auburn blur. The velocity of his spinning forced the bubbles around him to back away forming a barrier like dome around the tiny turtle pokemon. Once Squirtle recognized this, he released his Water Gun from within his shell not once wavering or slowing down his spinning. Water appeared out of the shell in a stream that trailed out like a transparent ribbon. This ribbon whipped around the area popping all the bubbles leaving only a shining mist in its place. By now the crowd was full of spectators watching the wonderful performance, and were complete in awe.

"Okay Squirtle, finish it off!"

With that the shelled creature smoothly popped out of its shell still spinning, and squirting a Water Gun, but this time straight up into the air making a small water fountain. As Squirtle finally pirouetted to a stop, the audience burst into applauds while the glittering mist rained down on the trainer and Pokemon striking a pose. The crowd eagerly tossed in extra change into the bowl that seemingly appeared out of nowhere during the performance believing that the pair earned it well.

May was grinning widely and proudly at her pokemon knowing that this was, by far, Squirtle's best ever performance. It has always been her dream to be a coordinator after watching the most beautiful routine of a Surskit and his masked master. Despite being a thief, May never really liked the stealing and swiping she did, but was always forced to when she couldn't make enough money from the occasional acts she produced with her pokemon. (**A/N: **I know that sounds weird, but feeding 7 pokemon costs a lot of money.)As the brunette glanced upon the crowd, calculating the most likely income she would make, she was quite surprised to find her eyes locked on a spectator's gaze. The stranger's emerald eyes stared into her sapphire ones critically, almost as if judging her performance, before turning away. Still somewhat dazed at the random and unusual occurrence, May managed to catch glimpse the stranger's jade locks as he disappeared from sight..

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**A/N: **Hmm, not the best but I guess it's okay… Lol, different people pray/ swear on different legendaries depending on their region. xD I know that was pointless and random but I felt like sharing that with you people. :3 As a possible idea for future chapters, would a flying Dragonair or Milotic be cooler to ride on? Please vote by clicking the review button and clearly stating either "Dragnoair" or "Milotic".

Cue clichéd phrase: _**PLEASE REVIEW THIS NEWB WRITER~**_

~xMoonFire


	3. Chapter 2: Anything You Can Do

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokémon.

I'm so sorry for the late update, I was freaking out over this speech I had to do & a bunch of other junk you don't care about. Once again, sorry.

I apologize for Drew's slight OOCness, but I needed a reason for him to run away, plus I think he could be sensitive if he wants too. ;3 I also apologize for any uhm errors in the chapter, I finished adding in parts at midnight and updated right away because; one: I was impatient to update since I know waiting for updates is quite infuriating, and two: to get it out to all of you guys!

Answering eleighs question, no they can't fly but that's the point~

Zomg! The song, _"Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better",_ is frickin awesome. xD Listen on YouTube if you're bored enough.

Thank You Mary Sue's Ugly BFF, eleighs, xLifeOfBrokenDreamsX, Lyla D., Under The Elements, and amichalap for reviewing!

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter 2: Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better**

_~xX 10 years ago Xx~_

"Come, Jacob. With the treasure at the end of the cave, all your dreams will come true.. Your kingdom strong, your country in peace, and your family safe..." whispered a mysterious female voice tauntingly.

"I'm not sure Christine.." said the King of La Rousse.

Before the two, was the head of a Persian sticking out of the sandy dunes, the difference though, was that this Persian head was very large; its mouth wide enough to form a sort of cave, and it was not an actual Persian, just a moving breathing sand sculpture of one. Its mouth was gaping revealing the sharp fangs sticking from the ceiling and floor like stalagmites and stalactites. As the creature exhaled and inhaled, the mouth visibly moved gently up and down. The cat pokemon's eyes glowed in a golden light waiting for someone to dare approach the entrance of its cave, i.e. the inside of its mouth. Christine was dressed in dark, slightly coarse traveling clothes, and she could not be seen very well in the nighttime darkness. Jacob's clothing was a deep ruby red, laced in gold. He was clearly visible from the glow coming from the Persian's mouth, like an inner light. The king had piercing green eyes that matched those of his son, and

He hesitantly approached the Persian's cave. As the king passed the large teeth protruding from the ground, he noticed the flights of stairs leading deep down into the ground beyond his vision.

"Please, your majesty, all your wishes will come true once you retrieve the golden Pokegem.. You just need to go in the cave and find it," whispered Christine gently, yet also slightly maliciously.

Thinking of all benefits this little container could give to him, his family, and his people, Jacob cautiously began to climb down the stairs. Suddenly, the Persian's head began to rumble, allowing dangerous amounts of sand to fall from the roof of the cave; the structure was collapsing. As Jacob was sucked into the receding sandy staircases, the Persian spoke.

"Only the rose among thorns may enter!" growled the crumbling Persian. (**A/N:** Meh. A slightly sketchy version of the "diamond in the rough" thing, but whatever. xD)

"Christine, help me!" desperately cried the king reaching his hand out for the shadowed figure.

"Hmm…" the sorceress thought for a moment (quite sarcastically I may add) before replying, "No. With you out of my way, the path to throne is much easier to achieve. One more life I don't need to worry about taking. I only brought you here to see if you could bring the last instrument I need," smoothly as if it were nothing.

"You.. You traitor!" gasped the king. Before he could scramble his way free and shout even more curses at the woman, Jacob was sucked down into the ground along with the rest of the grotto.

"Father! Father, where are you…?" questioned a young jade haired and emerald eyed boy as he walked on a conversation with his mother and his parent's special adviser. The young king to be slowly came to a halt, a terrible feel of dread overcoming him. His usually calm and composed mother almost _never_ cried as she was now. The child's eyes worriedly and suspiciously darted from the royal adviser to the queen.

"Mother.. What's wrong?"

"Oh Drew… Honey, come here" beckoned the monarch gently. When her son ran to her, the queen picked him up, and placed the boy on her lap in a motherly fashion, much undignified for a woman of her status.

"Mother, why are you crying?" questioned Drew with worry evident in his young, high pitched voice.

"Well… Something happened.. And your father won't ever be coming back…" whimpered the queen a fresh torrent of tears coming down her face. Drew, not clearly understanding what she meant and fearing the worst, turned to the royal adviser with confusion on his face. He did not want to upset his mother even more with questions and hoped the noble consultant would know the answers.

"Christine, is father dead?" the prince asked bluntly. (**A/N: **He's a smart okay?!? Not quite a prodigy but still fairly intelligent.)

"Your highness, your father and I were out in the desert attempting to reach a nearby town in need of the king, and well.. We were attacked by a wild group of Mightyena. Your father didn't make it… I am truly sorry your highness" said the woman, her voice hinting at a mocking and sarcastic tone. Too distraught to notice the insincere-ness of her voice, mother and son teared up over their loss, sobs echoing across the large throne room.

Feeling her work was done, the adviser silently stalked out of the room, her Chatot, which was hanging out up in the chandelier, and soundlessly glided out with his Mistress…

_~~xXx~~_

"Oh Groudon! All this for a simple loaf of bread…"

A young brunette hurriedly ran past a crowd of merchants, her Combusken following right behind her. A few feet away, guards were chasing them, swinging their swords and moving their legs in desperate attempts to catch up to the blue eyed thief.

"Combusken, use Ember!"

"Busken!" cried out the fowl pokemon as it unleashed a small sparks of fire at the guards' feet, causing tiny flames to dance wildly across their trousers. While they were busy beating down the flames, May took this opportunity to escape the men's grasp even further by climbing up a ladder to the roof tops. Combusken followed quickly behind her, and the sentinels not too far behind. When the men were half way up the ladder, the Street Pichu tipped the ladder over, stalling for time as she and her faithful pokemon smoothly jumped from roof top to roof top, bread grasped gently, but tightly in hand.

Jumping onto a balcony, May silently leaped to the ground, her cape fluttering behind her then gathering mysteriously around as she landed in a crouching position on one knee. Drawing her cloak around her may pulled back into the shadows of a narrow alleyway. Back against the wall, the indigo eyed peasant held her breath as the guards ran past her, yelling and staring up at the roofs. Not moving an inch until she couldn't even hear the faintest sound of the noisy men. Letting out a sigh of relief, a wide grin spread across her face as she laughed. Her Combusken jumped down from his hiding place in the roof tops and smiled along with his Mistress. Skipping childishly down to the back of the alley, where sunlight was not being covered by shadows and happily plopped down sitting with her legs crossed in front of her. Combusken took up the same position next to her and grinned pleasantly watching his trainer divide the long stick of bread in half. Together two giggled at their success against the guards, the relief of no longer forcing her muscles and mind to tense and quick.

Before May could even take a bite she noticed a little boy with his Ralts digging through trash, noticeably trying hard not to look at her and Combusken out of politeness. Looking back down at the bread she was about to bite, the brunette got up smiling gently at the boy and handed the bread to him. Combusken, having noticed his Mistress's actions, also got up and gave the Ralts his bread. The two looked gratefully up at them and murmured a small thank you before running off. Smiling lightly at the sight, May felt a sad pang in heart, for the boy and his pokemon reminded her very much of her little brother...

After leaving the alley, the girl had returned Combusken back to its deep orange Pokegem. She calmly walked through the market place keeping an eye out for any guards roaming around, when one particular stall caught her attention...

May delicately picked up the fragile, extremely life-like Slacking figurine. She could feel the tears beginning to fill in her eyes as she examined the precious object. Her father's prized pokemon was a Slacking, and this little statue was painful reminder of him.

Finally feeling the pain dull to only a numbing ache, the Street Pichu took this time to examine the street behind her to make sure there were no wandering guards getting ready to ambush her. Still holding the Slacking in her hands, she nonchalantly turned and looked at the people passing by. She saw the normal faces of La Rousse and not the bearded faces of the street security guards. Suddenly feeling the sense of eyes upon her she glanced to her right and briefly met the penetrating gaze of an emerald eyed stare. May instantly recognized him from her performance the earlier that day and was shocked to be seeing him once again. In her surprise, she nearly didn't notice the loud, shattering crack sound next to her feet. Looking down upon hearing the noise she found herself looking in terror at the broken pieces of the Slacking that had once been in her hands. Apparently she wasn't the only one to have noticed.

"Hey! You better be able to pay for that, girl," said the figurine's owner while grabbing May's arm tightly before she could even comprehend what had just happened. He was a burly looking man, and apparently one of the traveling vendors.

"I –I…" May stuttered dumbly before replying in panic, "No, please! I— I can get the money for it, just let me—"

"You know very well the price for stealing, Street Pichu…" the merchant growled dangerously low. He took out leaf colored Pokegem and released a Scyther, which immediately raised its scythe like arm just above were May's forearm was stretched out. The azure-eyed girl panicked even more knowing what was coming, struggling in vain.

"Scyther, use Cut!"

The mantis pokemon brought down its blades. May clenched her eyes shut, involuntarily flinching, waiting for the deadly razors to make contact on her wrist, when she suddenly heard a small…

_Ping!_

Wondering why she could not yet feel the searing pain, May cautiously squinting her eyes open the brunette found a large, gold coin wobbling on the counter of the stand among the other sculptures. In confusion, she fully opened her eyes knowing that her hand was no longer going to be amputated. The vendor was just as confused at the sudden appearance of the money as well. His Scyther had held off on its attack since the coin randomly came out of nowhere and hit it precisely on the metal part of its scythes before ricocheting into the air onto the table.

"That should be able to cover the cost of that Slacking, right?" said an arrogant male voice. In synchronization, the eyes of May, Scyther, and the vendor turned and gazed upon the teenager who had spoken. The boy sported dusty silk garments which included his loose beige pants and his short-sleeved black shirt. His purple cotton vest was open and button-less, and his worn small, cup-like hat was placed carelessly upon his jade locks.

Looking back at the _large, thick_ gold coin gleaming within the crowd of figurines, he looked back at the teen and nodded numbly, thinking about how much extra money he had just earned for one of his cheapest items. As if in a trance, he let go of May, who had been frozen in shock the entire time, and returned his Scyther back to its Pokegem. The merchant then quickly picked up the coin and returned to his post behind the stall as if what had occurred never happened. Once May was out of danger, the emerald- eyed boy turned to leave calmly also as if he had never intervened with May's amputation.

The brunette was still stunned at what had just happened. She couldn't believe her luck, and that this guy had actually saved her. Knowing that she should at least thank him, May looked around, skimming the crowds to see if she could find him. Finally turning to her left, she could see the boy's retreating figure among the many people; he was already quite a distance off. Without thinking, May shot off to catch him before he was out of sight.

When she finally caught up, they were already in the square she performed at earlier that day. Not many people were there anymore except for the few people passing by, moving through to get other streets that intersected at the same area. He was approaching the fountain in the center, and took a silver coin out of his pocket. The coin soon left his hand, and plopped into the fountain. The azure-eyed girl lightly tapped the boy on his shoulder waiting for him to turn around. He quickly pivoted around, and found himself face to face with the girl he had just saved moments ago.

Glancing at her expectantly the male cockily smirked at her upon recognition.

"Uuuuhh…" May mumbled as she fiddled with the edges of the rough, burlap makeshift gloves she often wore. To her surprise her mind had completely blanked once the boy had turned around. There was something about him that made you feel slightly inferior, as if he was the one in charge. He had a somewhat commanding presence that almost demanded respect. She also had realized that he was probably _a lot _higher in class if his clothes were made of silk and if he carried gold and silver coins, tossing them around as if they were nothing. (**A/N: **Lol apparently the disguise isn't working as well as he had hoped.) The combination of all this, including his beryl piercing eyes staring her down, vaguely overwhelmed May.

"Um, I j-just wanted to say," May started again, "uh, th-thank you for helping me out back there…"

"Hmph," the boy just smirked, "Please, don't tell me you're a coordinator. If you're that much of a klutz you'll never be any good."

This was definitely _not_ the reaction that May had anticipated. Gaping in shock May gave a little 'hmph' annoyance as the chartreuse eyed stranger continued his critical insults.

"You're completely hopeless. I'm surprised that your hand wasn't chopped off a long time ago," he antagonized.

"Hey!" yelled May, her anger firing up, "Who the heck do you think you are to insult me like that!??!!"

"_I_ am Prin- I mean, Pokemon Coordinator, Drew," said the teenager while raising his hand, and flicking the bangs of his grassy hair.

"Really?" the brunette asked, her anger fading to admiration, "I've always wanted to be a coordinator!"

"Pft. You got no chance. You're Pokemon have no style. No pizzazz."

"I don't care what you say about me, but you do NOT insult my Pokemon you- hmm!?"

Drew had smacked his palm right in her face and smugly said, "Calm down little girl, if you think you're better than me, which you're obviously not, I challenge you to a Pokemon Contest. I'll show how a _real_ coordinator works."

"Why you…" growled May, "I could beat you in a contest anytime, anywhere!" she yelled while attempting to smack him fruitlessly as he pushed her face away with his hand.

"Hmph, how about now? We'll enter a street contest and see if you can even make it past the preliminaries," he said leaning casually on May's face, as the force of her pushing against his hand kept him balanced and upright.

In her anger, the brunette had completely forgotten how dangerous & expensive street contests could be, being the reason that she never entered them.

"You're on! I'll crush you, you conceited jerk!!" screamed the cobalt eyed teenager, while still trying to hit him.

"Aaaw, is that any way to treat someone who saved you?" Drew mockingly replied as he saw guilt wash over her eyes.

"Oh, and by the way," he continued sarcastically while releasing the hold he had of her face, "How can you beat me if you can't even keep standing?"

The moment he had completed the question, May had fallen face flat due to the fact the force of her pushing had caused her to stumble when Drew no longer supported her momentum.

'_Oh Mew, you're going __**down**__ now, you are definitely going down now you big jerk..' _May thought to herself as she lifted herself off the ground.

"Come on, _Princess_, we don't have all day," the smirking coordinator said, mockingly emphasizing "Princess."

Mumbling some very rude and hateful comments under her breath, May lead the way to the passage of the secret underground coordinating arena. (**A/N**: Yesh, I know I kinda stole this "meeting" scene from the anime with a few tweaks here and there, but I want it as realistic and as non–OOC as possible.)

~~xXx~~

Drew followed the brunette, gracefully weaving in and out of the crowds. The green eyed boy was slightly surprised at the aggressive nature of the female teenager he had rescued. It was quite out of the usual reactions he was used to, but then again, unlike the other swooning girls, she didn't know really he was. But then again.. Even out here in the streets his status was still noticeable. People parted in a sort of respect to him, and girls, were once again sighing dreamily at him. _'Crap, if I'm not careful I could be discovered a heck lot faster than I thought,' _Drew concluded. He had wisely chosen an area where the palace monarchs were not know very well and allowed him to roam freely with less fear of getting caught.

Turning into a dark alley, Drew followed the girl as she gingerly tapped the wall at the dead end five times. Two quick knocks, a pause, before solidly knocking once, pause, then rapping twice quickly once more. Looking on in amusement, Drew watched as the girl jumped in shock at the appearance of two eyes being replaced by the brick that was once on the spot where she had previously tapped before. After a hushed conversation, and a couple of glances back at him, the azure eyed teen walked towards him.

"We have to pay to enter the compound; one silver piece each.." whispered the girl, her voice quite grouchy and upset for having to pay so much.

Rolling his eyes in response, Drew took out a shiny, silver coin and deftly tossed through the slot, where the eyes behind the brick wall quickly ducked, and just as easily caught the coin in mid air. Gaping slightly at the showing off of her competitor, the girl grabbed the smaller of her two pouches and hesitantly pushed it through the hole, wincing as the bag dropped with a heavy clank on the other side.

Once the coins had been collected, the brick was put back in place. As the two teens waited in silence, the wall shook and shuddered, slowly moving to the left showing a secret passage leading downwards into a torch lit corridor. The man who had collected their money and opened the door moved to the side, and elegantly motioned for them to proceed down the dim hall. As they each walked passed him, the man slightly bowed while saying their names, "Miss May.. Sir Drew..."

'_So, her name's May...'_ Drew thought as he passed the man with a slight nod in acknowledgement. As they walked side by side down the steps, May had unintentionally inched her way a little closer to Drew as, from what he could see, nervousness brimmed her eyes as she fearfully glanced at her surroundings. For a second, her eyes had locked on his, and he threw her a smug grin and contemptuously whispered, "Aaaw is the little girl scared?" Hearing this comment, May's eyes flared in defiance and rage, but before she could even respond a bright light blinded their eyes. Once their eyes had adjusted to the sudden light, it was plain to see that they were in a circular arena with high walls, where the audience was placed cheering for the show to get started. (**A/N:** Imagine an ancient Roman arena where the gladiators fought in chariots.) Smirking devilishly Drew murmured above the crowds chanting, only loud enough for May and him to hear.

"Let the fun begin..."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Review Please~


End file.
